Describe how Natalie Jeremijenko has based her research on "new technologies are an opportunity for social transformation" to perform "small actions that can amount to a significant effect to improve local environmental health".
Tip: Opening up TED's interactive transcript is very helpful to understand her talk and also looking over her web site on the Environmental Health at Clinic at http://www.environmentalhealthclinic.net/people/natalie-jeremijenko/. (2 paragraphs)


Natalie Jereminjenko is an avid believer of attending to the environment. Caring for oneself is undoubtedly vital. Yet caring for the environment is crucial as well. She emphasizes the importance of not only treating what is within, but what is ‘without’. Jeremijenko currently administers an Environmental Health Clinic in Manhattan. Individuals visit the clinic with various concerns about the environment and are subsequently referred to as ‘impatients’ in need of environmental prescriptions.

For instance, an example of a prescription, known as ‘No Park’, would be constructing a kind of miniature landscape in front of fire hydrants after abolishing the asphalt. Several toxins are released from vehicles which can potentially harm the quality of the water. In addition, garbage is collected and washed away into the harbour. These toxins are absorbed into the water system when it rains. By constructing several micro landscapes, a number of toxins caused by vehicles will be deterred from entering the water system and potentially harming the environment. Although this is a small deed, it may certainly go a long way in nurturing the environment.

Choose two projects on HowStuffisMade at http://howstuffismade.org/ and write about how they are made. (1 paragraph each/2 paragraphs)

The Fortune Cookie
The fortune cookie, just as many other cookies, consists of four basic ingredients: sugar, flour, eggs and water. The process is fairly automated. Once the batter is mixed, a machine shoots it into girdles on a rotating wheel. Then the flat cookies are exposed to 375 degrees as they pass through an oven. A machine lays the actual fortunes on top of the flat cookies and the machine folds the cookies into its notorious shape. Manual inspection is required to guarantee the quality of the cookies. Often times, fortunes are peaking out at one end of the cookie. Thus a labourer must push them back in. After this point of the process, a machine wraps each cookie in its own plastic bag.

A Wine Bottle
A wine bottle is composed of three key materials. Silica is the structural element of the glass; soda ash is required to assist in the melting process; and limestone is the component needed to harden the glass. To achieve colours, metals are added to the mixture. These metals may include chromium for green, gold for red and nickel for smoke. Then, glass is melted for 24 hours. The melting process is followed by a refinement procedure where the glass is poured into a cavity in the shape of a bottle and heated to achieve the desired shape. The bottle is left to cool to 180F.

Why is it important that we understand how stuff is made as part of our systems analysis and design process? (1 paragraph)

It is crucial to understand how a wide variety of stuff are made in order to comprehend how to effectively make things better – or even comprehend how to make new things based on the design of old things. The more and more an individual strives to gather such knowledge, the more opportunities he/she has in conceptualizing novel inventions or innovations. Understanding how stuff is made as part of our system analysis and design process helps us find solutions to problems with our own designs.